What is a "physical" news story? 🤔
Journalism in physical spaces
Yeah, a newspaper is a "physical" thing. But when news on the internet started, journalism had to adapt to this new space - it had to figure out the best way to tell stories and interact with people in a way it hadn't done before.
As technology continues to evolve, and society with it, how might our interactions with journalism change again?
This month we're handing it over to Dr Skye Doherty and A/Prof Stephen Viller from UQ. Their work is interested in how might journalism work if it was designed for physical interactions.
They will facilitate a workshop that will get us thinking about "the intersection of tangible technologies — such as sensors, 3D printing, projections, RFID tags — and storytelling".
Join us for this workshop on August 28 from 6pm in the foyer of the ABC building, South Bank
6pm: Arrive, grab a drink, socialise
6.30pm: Workshop
7pm: Food, another drink (but no pressure), more chats
8pm: Close
ICYMI
There is a simple but effective visualisation that is repeated in this Guardian piece looking at UK food imports and exports with the EU. The impressive bit is the huge list of food and drink items you can filter by after you pass the obligatory wine, cheese and tomatoes
If you fall on the "hacker" side of the coin, do you know Python? If you're a "hack", maybe it's Python you should be learning. "[S]ome are predicting it will soon become the most popular programming language in the world."
After last month's discussion on surveillance powers (see below!), this caught my eye: Bernie Sanders wants to ban police use of facial recognition technology
Still in the US, and a tip of the hat to our chat a few months ago about using maps as part of political coverage, these NY Times visualisations on where the Democratic presidential candidates are getting their money from are fascinating
About last month...
We had a big group and some new faces in the audience for our panel discussion with Dr Monique Mann, Dr Brenda Moon and Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh on surveillance powers and protecting sources. Here are some of the choice cuts from a chat that honestly had loads of choice cuts:
Monique
When metadata retention was introduced there were supposed to be protections for journalists - but they're not really being used. More broadly, this affects all of us
Agencies are working through loopholes. They use the rhetoric of national security - but there’s been scope creep
"Is it even possible to protect sources?" What if you meet face to face with someone in a place with CCTV that feeds into facial recognition database? It's getting harder for journalists to say confidently that they can protect their sources because what agencies are doing with tech companies pervades our lives
Brenda
Most people haven’t taken these simple steps
The problem with layers is: each makes you a bit safer, but it’s a moving target – as software changes and the threats to us change (including the government)
Spend time doing a risk assessment – if there are serious threats, you need to find someone who can help you
If the Australian Government wants to breach your privacy, they will
Rebecca
When 9/11 happened, Australia had no counterterror laws (NT had one). Now we have loads
National security is important. Press freedom is import. How do we get that balance right?
What we saw in June with the AFP raids was worrying. Laws need to be tweaked – in some cases repealed
The "performative" nature of the raids didn’t need to happen. They could’ve done it covertly and remotely. But they were sending a message about cracking down on leaks
Can you protect yourself from hackers? Yes. Can you protect yourself from the government? No
(Thanks Rosie for the tweets!)